..". intriguing collection... a recommended study for anyone interestedin the habits and personalities of great minds." -- ForeWordThiscompilation of reminiscences about Tchaikovsky the man is unprecedented in English.The memoirs, diary entries, and interviews written and conducted by hiscontemporaries show us both the public and the private figure: the law student, theprofessor, the philanthropist, the loving brother and uncle, the intrepid traveler, and of course the composer and conductor. In more than 50 documents -- somelaudatory, others not -- Tchaikovsky's contemporaries speak of little-known facetsof the composer's life: foibles and mannerisms, politics and tastes, prejudices andpreferences (sexual and otherwise). The result is a dynamic portrayal of thecomposer, with all the complexities and paradoxes of a real life.